In the opening minutes of the decisive game three between the Waterloo Warriors and the Guelph Gryphons, Warriors rookie forward Tommy Tsicos (Barrie) burst down the left wing, earned some space, and let fly with a wicked wrist shot labelled for the top corner. And as his shot clanged off the crossbar, the host team and their rabid fans likely thought it was just a jolt of bad luck; a bump in their road to the second round of the postseason.

As it turns out, it was an omen.

Guelph goaltender Andrew D'Agostini made 38 saves, and his goalposts made three more, as the Gryphons ended the Warriors' season with a 4-1 win in game three of their OUA West division quarterfinal on Sunday night in Waterloo.

Nick Huard scored a goal and added two assists for the Gryphons, who advance to round two to face the Toronto Varsity Blues. Teal Burns also added a goal and an assist, while Carlos Amestoy and Jordan Mock added empty netters for the Gryphons.

The Warriors were held off the board for nearly 59 minutes, as Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie) potted the lone Waterloo marker after the Gryphons had already scored one empty-net goal. The result also overshadowed the remarkable comeback of Warriors captain Joe Underwood (Canton), who rejoined the lineup just 29 days after suffering a broken bone in his foot. Underwood looked more comfortable as the game went on, although he fell far short of his normal 30-plus minutes of ice time. Mike Morrison (Hamilton) stopped 25 shots for the Warriors in a losing cause.

The clubs traded verbal barbs as the puck dropped in the first period, but the Warriors had more chances to throw the first punch on the scoreboard. In addition to Tsicos' shot off the bar, Kain Allicock (Markham) missed a wide open net when his shot from the slot unknowingly hit the shin pad of Guelph's Andres Kopstals. But as the period wore on, the Warriors found trouble in the penalty box – they were assessed three straight minors in the scoreless first frame, the last of which carried over to the second.

And it was on that third man advantage that the Gryphons finally made the hosts pay. A combination of quick-touch passing and fortuitous bounces left the puck on Huard's stick, and he shoved it past Morrison's outstretched pad to make it 1-0 Guelph.

Just over four minutes later, Burns would take advantage of a giveaway in the Waterloo zone, as he beat Morrison to the blocker side to extend the Guelph lead to 2-0. There were no more goals in the middle stanza, but the iron behind D'Agostini stymied the Warriors twice more – once on a Mike Moffat (Waterloo) slapper from the point, and once on an Andrew Smith (Kitchener) chance from the slot.

The Warriors continued to pour it on in the third period, and with less than 3 minutes to play, D'Agostini made his best save of the night when he went post-to-post to rob Allicock on the doorstep. Guelph would add two empty netters, sandwiched around Amadio's goal, to salt away the series victory.

The Warriors will now have a long spring and summer to reload and prepare for next season, while the Gryphons will move on to continue their chase for a Queen's Cup OUA Championship.

Notes: The Warriors went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Guelph went 1-for-5…This was the final CIS game for graduating seniors Justin Larson (Buckhorn), Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge), Anthony Tapper (Marmora), Kain Allicock (Markham), Robin Clarke (Cambridge), and Jeff Einhorn (Red Deer)…Waterloo was once again without injured forwards Chris Chappell (Pickering) and Matt Kennedy (Oro Medonte).